U.S. EMBASSY EXPOSED: Personal data of top Ghanaian politicians sold. PART 1

America, a jurisdiction that has been touted by the world as an ardent promoter of data security has a lot of questions to answer to the Ghanaian public.

An investigation by The Ghana Report has led to the discovery of confidential data of some high profile Ghanaian politicians and other prospective travellers being sold on the open market. 

The investigation followed concerns raised over the protection of detailed personal data submitted to especially the American embassy in Ghana as well as other consulates by prospective travelers as part of visa acquisition procedures.

Notable individuals including the controversial founder of the APC Party Hassan Ayariga as well as deputy general secretary of the NPP Nana Obiri Boahen are a part of the long list of Ghanaians who had their personal data sold. 

Others include some top members of both NPP and NDC as well as a few Ghanaian businessmen. This situation raises questions on breach of data protection laws of Ghana.

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) of Ghana was established under the Data Protection Act (DPA), 2012 (Act 843) with the objective of protecting the privacy of personal data of individuals by regulating the processing of personal data, and providing the process to obtain, hold, use or disclose personal information.

The Act therefore makes it mandatory for all entities including Embassies and Consulates, who collect, keep and use personal data in computer systems or in manual files to safeguard information provided them. 

Personal data in this context includes passport & other National identity details, date of birth, home address, email address, phone number, financial information, gender, religion, political affiliations, ethnic identity, medical information, educational records, Social Security details, employment records, and marital status.

U.S. EMBASSY IN PERSONAL DATA BREACH

Some of the intercepted ID pages:

IDENTITY THEFT

Interestingly, criminals in possession of these documents could take
malicious actions such as fraud, impersonation and other financial transactions at the blind side of the law.

This is the first in a series of reports to be published by The Ghana Report on data breaches by the American Embassy in Ghana and how this may invariably expose affected individuals to diverse risks.

Stay on theghanareport.com for more publications on the list of Ghanaians affected by the unpardonable personal data breach by the US Embassy in Ghana.